I will share my story. In May I qualified at the Fargo Marathon. I would have never dreamed about qualifying for Boston, Fargo was to have been my last full marathon. I was 39 and wanted to "race" one more full to see what I could do. I was in good running shape after the Disney weekend in January, and had a good plan in place. The weather was warmer than usual and allowed us Minnesotans great outdoor runs in Feb. and March. But to qualify for 35-39 I needed to break 3:10, that wasn't going to happen. Then it got really warm, Friday night for the family 5K it was in the 80's and I knew all the training for Saturdays race was going to be wasted because of extreme heat. Not good conditions for a PR/BQ. However as luck would have it, a cold front rolled through the area that morning, I awoke to upper 40's and overcast! It was time to see how the training paid off. The first 13 miles went great, slightly faster than my goal pace, but I felt really good and went with it. By mile 20 I knew the last 6 were going to be a struggle - my classic "out to fast and just try to finish". I managed a jog 8 minutes walk 2 minutes cycle for 5 miles and tried to finish "strong" in front of the family for the last mile. Finish time 3:14:03... Wow I broke 3:15! I was super happy for my PR & knew a BQ wasn't in the picture anyways. As I rubbed out a few cramps in the finish chute, a friend walked past and asked my time, he then asked when my birthday was...November. He said "You qualified for Boston!" I had no idea the time was based on your age the next time Bostons race was to be held. Thus I qualified by :52 seconds and a BIRTHDAY!!! And as you can tell, I am doing just one more full marathon. HaHa

I definitely squeaked into Boston! I ran my first marathon in January of 2012, and finished with a respectable 3:52, not bad for my 40 year old non-running body. My wife ran her first marathon that day, and she beat me by 30 minutes and BQ'd! Not wanting to be a spectator, I looked into what it would take to qualify, and with the new standard it was 3:15. I trained like crazy, entered the Ottawa Marathon last May, and qualified with a 3:14:59.1 (yes, they time to a hundredth in Ottawa. So I guess I am BQ -.9 sec. It doesn't matter, I am in the dance!

Ever since I was a collegiate distance runner in the late 70's I have been trying to qualify.

Closest I came was running a 2:57 at the Penn Relays - and my qualifying time was 2:50.

In my 2nd ruunning carrer - (when I turned 50), I started chasing the dream again. Never came closer than 30 minutes.

I'm presently 58 years old and on the advice of my Oncologist and my Orthopaedic Doc's I was told if I ever want to do this, do it now. Radiation is the gift that keeps on giving and my vertebrae discs are blowing out.

I am running as an AMAA team member (American Medical Athletic Association).

Thank you for giving a name to what I do and who I am, and what it means to all of us Squeakers. Because my birthday is in mid-April, every 5 years I have an extra long qualifying window. In 2002 as a 43 year old, I was able to eke out a qualifier for 2004, when I would turn 45 the day before the race. I needed a 3:50 to run as a 44 year old but only 4:00 at 45. I hoped to get the 3:50 but faded in the second half of the race. In the end, injury would have prevented me from running in 2003 anyway. As it was, I barely made it to the start in 2004 after knee surgery the previous October, and struggled to finish in the back of the pack after being passed by most of the charity runners. Other injuries and life circumstances have kept me from getting there again, but I continue to try. This Sunday I will toe the line for another go at it. I need a 4:10 now. Sure wish they hadn't dropped the extra five minutes from the previous set of standards!

With pending back surgery, I entered the St George marathon in 2011 hoping to qualify. Needless to say, I was pretty miserable and my lack of training due to the blown discs certainly hindered my preparation. I knew it was gonna be close. Having run Boston previously, I really, REALLY wanted to get back there and this was my last opportunity for Boston 2013 due to the surgery a week and a half post St George.

At mile three I had to pee like the proverbial race horse. Usually I get that issue resolved prior to a run but for some unknown (apparent) hyper-hydration reason, it had the undesired and ill timed effect. Not wanting to wait for the outhouse, I ran down a small embankment to the rear of the porta potty, out of sight. I peed for approximately 25 seconds.

When I got to mile 22 or 23, I was hurting pretty bad and I thought there was absolutely no way I make the BQ (53 year old here...had to pop 3:30). I decided to just put my head down, don't look at the Garmin and do my level best.

I ran a 3:29:58. Thank goodness that pee didn't last for 27 seconds or I'd be sitting at home watching all you guys on tv.

First time I qualified (long time ago) I did so by the skin of my teeth. Small marathon, before chip timing. It was cold so I was bundled up and my bib was covered. As I finished they said "Yell out your bib #!" so I yelled out "#49! I'm going to Boston!" I stagger back to my car, exhausted but thrilled. As I peel off my wet clothes I see my bib # is 94...needless to say, I limped back to the finish line to make sure I didn't just qualify someone else for Boston!

EGeary - No, sorry - I've never run the Tampa marathon. I've paced a lot of other races though - and I ALWAYS make it known I'm one of God's chosen people (Irish-American AND a Steelers fan - a deadly combo!).

I've got family in Bethel Park. I'm guessing your profile picture was NOT taken in the 'burgh, correct?

It took me 16 years and 34 marathons trying, and when I finally squeaked in with 56 seconds to spare in the 65 to 69 male category, at he 2009 Portland Marathon, four days after the qualifying window opened for the 2011 Boston, it still took a rather astounding combination of persistence and good luck to get me there.

First I had to be one of the lucky few who doggedly got in to register during the first two hours of the historic 8 hour field-filling crush. Whew! Then five days before the 2011 115th Boston, I got home from work to find a cheery-voiced message from Amtrak telling me that due to flooding in the Dakotas, my scheduled train from Montana to Chicago on the route to Boston had been cancelled, but Amtrak was pleased to inform me they could get me to Boston by the following Wednesday, two days after the race. Fortunately I was able to book a flight and run my first and only Boston as my 35th marathon, without a doubt the most amazing experience of my 25,000 mile running career.

The rest of my squeaker story is that as a mid-packer who started running late at age 38, ran my first marathon at 48 in 1993, was never fast enough to meet Boston times, but never slowed down much as I aged, so finally at 64 was able to nail the time for 65-69. Persistence, some hard work, and a bit of luck finally got me there--and was it ever worth it, lining up at the Boston start with all those other qualifiers running through the historic towns along the route, then turning the corner near the end onto Boylston Street, seeing the iconic Boston finish line up ahead, crossing it and realizing "I just ran the Boston Marathon!"

I ran my first marathon in 1970 while in high school when I ran 3:03:08 in the second Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Wisconsin. I ran three other marathons in high school but never really knew what I was doing. (Who did back then?). I would have liked to run Boston then but financially it was impossible. For the next 40 years I continued to run but didn't seriously consider another marathon, although I was always very interested in Boston. One weekend while my wife was away I watched the movie "Spirit of the Marathon". When I finished the movie I decided to run another marathon and try to qualify. I ran 3:54:14 at Wineglass last September to qualify by 46 seconds. With six miles to go I told the pacer (yeah Otto!) that he had to keep me going as I was dead. I could hardly walk when I finished. My wife drove home and I registered for Boston in the car on my iPhone. I am very excited to be doing my first Boston at age 60.

After running my first marathon at the age of 54, I have squeaked in three times in the last 4 years. Most notable was Nov 12 in Seoul. I needed to run a PR to make it with the new standards of 3:40:00. Ran hard and was tired. In Seoul, you get to finish inside Olympic Stadium and I finally came in the stadium feeling like I had it in the bag, but soon realized it is a long way around the track. Started running hard and passing a lot of people. My wife could see this from the stands. With time short, I "sprinted" the last 20-30 meters to cross the finish line. Pushed my watch and it said 3:40:02. When I showed my wife she almost passed out. However, they soon sent us the official time of 3:40:00. Just made it. In a similar effort March 2013 in Seoul, I managed to better that time at 3:38:52. Still not a lot of room to spare. Next year I get 15 additional minutes. Hope to go to Boston someday.

Great article in RW! I barely squeaked into a BQ time at the LA Marathon on March 17 and this is a good chance for me to thank all the people that got me there. Boston has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember, thanks to my mom who also had it on hers. As a 52-year old lawyer working more than 60 hours a week most of the time, I have never had time to train in a focused way, but have always tried fit in running as a way to keep my head on straight. Once I hit age 48, the injuries started to mount - plantar fasciitis, back/SI joint injury, shin splints, strained calf muscles, pulled hamstring and the like, and I realized if I was ever going to qualify for Boston, I had better do it now. On the advice of my running partner Warren, I ordered a copy of "Run Less, Run Faster" and committed to the 16-week training program aiming for a 3:55 pace, just 5 minutes faster than my 4:00 BQ time. I followed the program pretty closely, not perfectly - always did my long runs and track workouts (thanks to my husband Doug who drove me to the track every Friday morning at 6:30 a.m.) but wasn't as good at my tempo runs. I enlisted my 23-year old son Dylan, a former college lacrosse player, to go "bucket listing" with me on this venture. On the day of the race, we placed our support crew along the course - my niece Jennifer at mile 15 with sports drink, signs and great cheering and my pilates teacher Diana at mile 20 with my favorite LuluLemon shirt -- and set out with a plan to somehow make it to the finish in less than 4 hours. Dylan was a great pacer - stayed about 20 yards ahead of me most of the race so I had to chase him (he knows me well). I was doing ok until about mile 21 when my quads froze up, undoubtedly the result of trying to make up too much time on the downhill earlier in the race. The voices in my head started taking over and I said I wasn't going to make it at least 20 times, to which Dylan consistently replied "yes we are". The defining moment came as we were turning left from San Vicente onto Ocean Boulevard for the last mile - I was struggling big time, and dying to walk, but I had only 11 minutes to make to the finish line on time. As I made the turn, I saw a man sitting in wheelchair on the corner, cheering on the runners. He made direct eye contact with me, cocked his head to the side, smiled a very whimsical smile and gave me a thumbs up -- as if to say "You've got this - and be thankful you are running!" That was such a spiritual moment for me - in that one moment of eye contact, that man gave me the strength to power to the finish line. It was the hardest last mile I have ever run, but I made it to the finish in 3:55:14 - squeaking in by 4:46 -- and only 14 seconds off of my "Run Less, Run Faster" goal time. Now I am hoping to get into to Boston 2014 with my BQ- thanks to the experts at FIRST (thanks for the training program guys!) and my amazing support team (my running partner Warren, my weight trainer Todd, my chiropractors Alan Forrest and Michael Sheps and of course Dylan, Jennifer, Diana and Doug) and most definitely the man in the wheelchair. Thank you all!

Last year I ran the Shamrock marathon. It was my second marathon. I was 57 years old. My goal was to run 4:10:00 or less and to qualitfy to run Boston as a 50-something. My training had been strong. I ran the first half with the 4:00:00 pace group, then fell back to run the second half at my own pace. I stopped for a porta potty. A security guard ducked in right ahead of me, but as I had already made promises to my post-menopausal bladder, I stood and waited for maybe 90 seconds. I did not panic. I was really quick inside the porta potty. As I turn to open the door, my tiara caught on the coiled wire spring inside the door. The tiara was secured to the outside of a brimmed visor, so I could not actually see what had caught me, and I could not easily remove the visor, as it ran under my ponytail in the back. It took me several seconds to free myself. Not to worry. I had banked plenty of time. As the miles went on, I was struggling with pace. I kept trying to run numbers in my head, and thought if I could just stay under a 10 minute pace, I would be okay. I crossed the finish line, arms held high in victory.

Then I looked down at my Garmin. 4:10:06. Noooo! I collected my bag, and the time texted to my cell phone was 4:10:05. Later, my official time was 4:10:04. That's right, I missed Boston by 4 seconds.

Okay, so I still had another year to qualify to run Boston before turning 60. I registered for a November marathon and for Shamrock 2013. I trained hard. Then in September, I decided to remove the insoles from my too-snug, too-cushy Pure Flows and set out for an 18-miler. It was a fatal move. ITBS struck on my next run and hounded me for several months. The November marathon was a complete no show, and last month I ran the Shamrock Half instead of the full. It's looking like I will not have time to qualify to run Boston as a 50-something.

The good news is that the qualifying time for a 60-something woman is 4:25:00. The pressure is off. I can wear a tiara, take a potty break, and still BQ. Yes, I will be a squeaker, but I will be so proud! See you in 2015!

- Emma (formerly MJ --- it's a long story)

Attachments

I had run two marathons when we lived in the west Texas desert. I wasn't that serious about it and ran 4:49 ad 4:09 in 2003 and 2006. When we moved up north in 2009, I ramped up the mileage and started to get serious. I also turned 50, so the qual time was 3:35. In 2010, I ran the Fredericton, New Brunswick marathon. It was perfect weather and flat as a pancake, Plus about 3.4 of the course was on a cushion-like bike trail. I ran totally by feel and only knew by official time at the halfway mark. Finished in 3:30 and BQ'd by 4:54 for 2011. BQ'd in Boston that year at 3:23 but skipped last year due to finances. The two marathons I ran in 2012, 3:13 and 3:09, got me in for 2013 and 2014.

This is possibly my favorite RW article ever. I squeaked into Boston for the first time in 1995 and have squeaked 3 times since then. I'm always in a corral at the back and always just so happy to be there. I've never run a BQ time in Boston. Last time I went I volunteered at race reg on Friday and met runners from all over the world. One of my best friends and I both squeaked one year and when we ran Boston we were both in the very early stages of pregnancy; needless to say we were slow but boy do we look happy in our race photos!. I am currently scheduled for knee surgery later this month and haven't run a step since August so my running future is uncertain at present. Between that and the new qualifying standards I don't know if I'll squeak again.....but you know if I can I sure will!

I BQd twice since I started running in 2006, both times by squeaking. The first time was in my second marathon, Mississauga in 2009. The course is considered fast due to net downhill. There's significant elevation drop in the first half, and some rolling hills in the second half. I have to say that the course is either measured short, or runners often cut one or two poorly marked corners to make it short, so it has relatively high BQ rate and is popular for that reason.

Anyway, I had a good training cycle, ran a solid race and finished in 3:18:21 when I needed 3:20 to qualify. That was actually good enough for first wave, corral 8 in Boston, not too shabby for a squeaker. Of course, I was so excited to be in my first Boston that I forgot my gels in the drop bag, had to run back to the athlete's village from the starting corrals to retrieve them, missed my wave start, started in wave 2 corral 2, ran the first half too fast, bonked in Kenmore Square and ended up finishing in 3:21 when I was on pace for 3:16 at the half. Then I proceeded to run two more 3:21 marathons in the next year, missing a BQ by less than a minute each time.

Second BQ in Berlin 2011 was even closer, at 3:24:27 when I needed 3:25 (the beauty of joining next AG for 2013). This puts me in wave 2 corral 10, so I guess average BQ times got faster. Not going for a BQ in Boston this time, just happy to be there like Tish said - will try again next year!

Hey everyone! Fellow squeaker here and apparently taper mad bc I should be working instead of posting. I ran my first marathon in the Fall of 2008 at age 51 and Boston will be my 15th. Here is my BQ history.

1st BQ attempt - NYC 11/09 Needed 3:35:59 Finished 3:36:30 Fail

2nd BQ attempt - VA Beach spring 2010 - personal worst

1st BQ - Twin Cities 10/10 Finished 3:33:59 BQ

Ran Boston 2011

Planned to use the Twin Cities time again for 2012 with BQ qualifying at 3:35 but didn't make the cut (and dodged the heat bullet!)

BQ'd in Chicago Oct 2012 by 57 seconds but was afraid it wouldn't be good enough even though all of the standards got tougher - so worked a lot harder for NOLA

BQ'd in New Orleans Mar 2012 by 12+ minutes w/ new PR (okay this one was definitely not a squeaker)

BQ'd in Ky Derby Apr 2012 by 4+ minutes (back in to the squeaking mode)

BQ'd in Melbourne FLA Jan 2013 by 3+ minutes

Good luck to everyone on Monday!

Since I hit the 55 age group, the BQ time is now 3:40, so for now I am running a lot of marathons (for me) and just making that my goal every time out.

I definitely squeaked into Boston! I ran my first marathon in January of 2012, and finished with a respectable 3:52, not bad for my 40 year old non-running body. My wife ran her first marathon that day, and she beat me by 30 minutes and BQ'd! Not wanting to be a spectator, I looked into what it would take to qualify, and with the new standard it was 3:15. I trained like crazy, entered the Ottawa Marathon last May, and qualified with a 3:14:59.1 (yes, they time to a hundredth in Ottawa. So I guess I am BQ -.9 sec. It doesn't matter, I am in the dance!

can you do it again in Boston or did you get fat and out of shape- as hockey players are want to do??

In June 2002 I was all set to run my 3rd marathon, and--I hoped--qualify for Boston. I had only been running regularly for a few years and had actually never heard of Boston until I talked to a finisher at the end of my 1st marathon, which I ran in December 2001 in 3:47. I thought, OK, I just need to trim 7 minutes off my time. I chose the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll, which worked with my teaching schedule and was within driving distance from my house. A quick weekend trip. Unfortunately, I was traveling with a nonrunner and a heavy sleeper. When the alarm clock squalled at 4 AM race morning, he promptly silenced it, believing there was still plenty of time to get to the start. I didn't wake up until 45 minutes later, and we got stuck in gridlock on the freeway. I heard the starting gun fire while we were en route. Panicking, I demanded to be let out of the car 1/4 mile from the start and sprinted up the Balboa park hill. No time to use the porta potty or warm up.

Bad judgment. During the race, I ended up having to wait in line to make an emergency pit stop, costing me valuable minutes. As I neared the finish line, I fixated on the clock. The seconds ticked past my qualifying time. Maybe I could still make it under the minute grace period, I thought, and tried to sprint. Cramped up. No dice. I was 20 seconds too slow.

A year later I was ready. I pegged San Diego again in 2003. I mapped out a residential route from my hotel a month ahead of time so I could avoid the freeway. Set three alarm clocks the night before and slept with the 3:40 pace band strapped to my wrist. Got to the start an hour early. Used the porty potty twice and streched conscientously.

I've run/stumbled 14 marathons since 2001, but this was honestly my last "textbook" marathon. I hit every single split time. I was like a metronome. During the last .2,as we approached the Marine Depot at the finish, a drill sergeant was barking at us to pick up the pace. My eyes were glued to the clock.

3:39:55. 3:39:56.

Crossed the mat and started crying. My family thought I hadn't made it in in time, gave me hugs and murmured encouraging words. How to explain this kind of insanity to nonrunners?

Finally I was able to tell them, "I made it in under the grace period!"

I ran Boston in 2004, survived the heat wave, but ended up getting injured a few months later. I took a break from running for a while. Life got in the way. Now, having just turned 40, I'm trying to get back up to running that a 8:30-8:35 pace for 26.2. 3:45, I keep telling myself. That's all I need.

But you never forget your first marathon. And you never, ever forget your first Boston qualifier.

Upcoming: Buckeye Marathon 12/10/16

2nd running life" PR's:

5K (4/5/14): 21:25 10K (2/27/16): 44:57 10 Miles (11/26/15): 1:13:34

Half Marathon (5/3/14):1:38:18Full Marathon (5/25/14):3:30:25

Running in memory of my Sister-in-Law Carol, who passed away Mother's Day 2013.

I attempted to qualify for Boston in 1995. I trained hard for the '95 Columbus marathon, lined up too far to the back of the pack and finished a "disappointing" 3:41:28. It took me at least a minute and a half to get to the starting line and this was pre-chip racing. I was crushed. My mother told me to mail in my entry for Boston anyway, explaining that it took me 1:30 to cross the start. To my surprise, they accepted my entry!

My sister and I had planned on running in the 100th Boston in 1996. She had already qualified. I had the Jacksonville Marathon to do so. Missed the 3:15 cut off by 45 seconds. Three days after the cutoff date to sign up I found out that they didn't count the seconds. I had qualified by 14 seconds. But they wouldn't let me enter the race because my time was up.

On a happier note: Three days before the 100th Boston, I was visiting a friend in Northern California. She had qualified for the Boston and then gotten so pregnant she couldn't run. She gave me her number, I caught a flight, met my sister at the airport. We rented a car and drove to where ever the buses were. The bus took us to the start where I stationed in a coral of mostly older women deflecting suspicious inquires of my qualifying time, my youthfulness having given me away as a possible Bandit Runner. I did have a number though and I didn't set any records or receive any Rosie Ruiz accolades. And the finishing medal they gave me at the end was mailed to the parents of Boston Jones, born around that day in Northern California.

Attachments

I managed to squeak into the marathon by 26 seconds out at the Minneapolis Marathon in June. I ended up spending a lot of time in the medical tent due to dehydration from the heat. I was supposed to run the Madison Marathon the week before but it got cancelled due to heat.

I managed to run 11 minutes faster than my qualifier and pr'ed by 4 minutes at Boston.

I squeaked in by a rather odd route. The year was 1970 and no official BQ had yet been set though the entry form required that I certify that I had trained sufficiently to finish under 4 hours. Because of fears that once a BQ had been set, I would never be able to run fast enough, I decided at the last minute to enter even though I'd never run a marathon before and felt inadequately prepared. I figured it would be my only chance ever to run Boston. Much to my surprise when I received my official results in the mail 3 weeks after the race, I had easily beaten the new BQ for the next year by over half an hour.

I did not even read your article until after I became a 'squeaker'. Boston was not a race I thought I could qualify for. The "wine and ice cream"statement in your article is me but add cigars and beer to the list. I ran the Pittsburgh marathon in May just hoping to beat a PR from 2 years before. 2012 marathon found me out with an over training injury. My wife was following my run on Face book and sent texts at the splits. I never read any until the race was over. After crossing the finish line I opened my phone to read the text "You qualified for Boston!". 3:39:39 , over 55 age group, gave me 20 seconds to 'squeak'. Now I just may have to give up the cigars and beer in my training and attempt to run Boston. The wine and ice cream are staying.

When I qualified for 2012 Boston, I squeaked in (4:00 qualifying time, ran a 3:57:25 then improved to 3:55). For 2013 Boston, when the time was reduced to 3:55, I qualified with a 3:53 (didn't go to Boston). For 2014 my first qualifying time in Sept/12 I ran a 3:54 so definitely would be a squeak with that (less than one minute), however I since ran again in May, and qualified with a BQ -13. No more squeaking!

Whenever I dreamed of qualifying for Boston, and that's what it has been for the last 7-8 years, a dream, I always imagined having to sprint down the straightaway in my hometown to make the qualifying time. So last fall, I had a goal of 3:12, but I gave myself an extra three minutes to spare just in case. Just in case apparently came in handy because at mile 18, I was already a minute behind my 3:12 pace. Then over the next several miles, time began to chip away. By mile 25, I was slightly below pace but with a horrible incline coming up. I kept to my training and was thankful I had run that exact section of the course 3 days earlier in practice. After I made it over that hill, I was able to sprint down to the end and qualify for boston with a 3:14:45, 15 seconds under. I am really hoping I make it to Boston but am not hopeful with all that has happened. Also, every time I run a marathon, I always look at the people who finished a second or two past the marathon qualifying time and really sympathize with them. I can't imagine how much regret I would have had if I had finished with 3:15:01 or something like that. I would have been so mad.

I ran my first marathon in Niagara Falls, and it was incredibly windy. As I ran the last mile, I was told the finish line had fallen over. Hopefully the clock was reset properly. Well I got to the finish, or I hoped it was the finish as I had no experience finishing a marathon and there was no banner, and hoped that the clock was correct, and guessed at my finish time, as I really wasn't sure of the exact finish (the finish line structure had fallen and the organizers had just cleared it away), but I was confident enough that I had made a BQ that I told the young lad who led me to the medical tent that "I'm going to Boston." He said "What?" I repeated "I'm going to Boston." Again, he said "What?" (I must have been slurring my words). Again I said "I'm going to Boston." He said - "Oh, I thought you said you were going to the washroom." I needed a 3:50, and I ended up qualifying with 3:50:30. That was when we had the extra 59 seconds. So I squeaked in with 29 seconds to spare.

Well, timewise I didn´t squeak in... but all in all I sort of did. Boston was never really on my list as I "learned" that it is next to impossible. That was when I started running - and I was so convinced of this "fact", that I never really checked what it takes. Now, in 2012 I met a mexican couple at the Marathon-Fair in Berlin (I am from Berlin actually) and they told me they travelled all the way from Mexico City to Berlin in order to BQ (Berlist is a very fast track). So we exchanged names and mails and after the Marathon I checked there times. That did not lead me anywhere as I simply did not know the BQ rules. So I googled them and found out that I BQ´d as well! First thing I did was to check into the registration portal and after I registered got this "Thanks for your data - we´ll get in touch with you"-Mail... I thought I was on a waiting list or so. Two weeks later the confirmation of acceptance arrived (still pinned to my fridge) and I needed to confess to my wife. In a true runner relationship it goes like this: "Sorry, but I forgot to tell you I qualified and registered for Boston. But if you want I can still blow the whole thing of.", "Are you crazy? Of course we are going to Boston!" - and so we did :-) The true squeaker was the shinsplints I got in winter... four weeks before Boston I did my first "run": 4 miles! I spare you the details, but a rigid ´all or nothing´ training got me back on track - though not in shape. So I was really happy to make it to Hopkinton, and from there to Boston!

I didn't squeak into a BQ a few weeks ago at the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City, Mich., but I did squeak into my major goal for that race - a sub-3:00 at the age of 50.

Mind you, my PR was 3:11:38 from four years ago. I got really motivated to race well at 50, since I've been inspired by some friends who have done so. Being 20 pounds lighter than my 2012 Boston fiasco (4:42-ish in the heat) certainly helped a ton!

Any-who, I was running about 6:36 pace through 21 miles, well under the 6:49-ish needed for a sub-3 on a course that would be 26.3something because of the tangents. Then the first hamstring cramp hit me hard, forcing me to stop and wonder out loud why this was happening to me when I was running the race of my life. A half marathon walker who happened to know a friend of mine stopped and massaged my left hamstring. A race official asked if I wanted a ride back to the finish. "No, I think I'm going to try to get moving again." I did, somewhat slower, but was encouraged by the fact I was still well under 3:00 pace (Garmins are wonderful!).

Then a mile or two later, my right hamstring cramped and I stopped again. This time, a friend of mine in my age group passed me. I did self-massage and got back in the game, slower still, but still on sub-3:00 pace. Both hamstrings let me know they were there over the final four miles but didn't stop me entirely. I was still under 3:00 pace, but the average pace on my Garmin started creeping into the high 6:40s.

With a half mile left, I did quick math and figured I needed to run 7:30 pace to make it. I pushed as hard as one can on two bad hammies after almost 26 miles of running. I got on the track, looked at the clock (I was about 2-3 seconds off gun time) and sprinted in.

I made it ... by four seconds. I made my BQ by 30 minutes, so I'm good for Day 1 registration.

I cannot imagine how tough it would've been to have run 3:00:00 instead of 2:59:56. At least the pressure is off for the Detroit Free Press Marathon in October. I can run that one relaxed, which experience tells me will probably lead to a better time.

I had previously run Boston 7 times with a PR of 3:12 in my very first Boston and have run everything between that and 4 hours since. In 2013 I forgot to sign up, after the incident (also my daughter had just started at BU) I decided I had to go back for number 8 and squeaked with a qualifying time of a few minutes. I generally have gotten in with an average of a 15 minute plus cushion, but for 2013 I was cutting it close. A huge number of us "squeakers" joined a Facebook group named Team Squeaker For Boston One, a community that grew up in that final week of registrations, wondering where the cut off for entry would be. Many did not make it in, even though they had qualified due to the fervor in wanting to be a part of the race post 2013. I ran in 2014, not a super fast time but a memorable Boston. This year - Team Squeaker is still going strong! We are hoping all our team members make it to Boston in 2015, check out the page and chat with Victoria, the founding member who holds the title "queen Squeaker" Warning, our posts can be quite hilarious! https://www.facebook.com/groups/438173172969270/

Remove From Your Block List

Manage Follow Preferences

Block

When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.